Monday, December 10, 2007

ANOTHER MOMENT OF CLARITY

Pastel from 7-8 years ago aprox 14x18

Another moment of clarity? It has always been so obvious, and indeed known to me, albeit at a cerebral level. But this morning, while walking Fat Charlie, it “came to me”, out of nowhere. It was one of those moments when the obvious suddenly became a eureka moment, and I knew in my heart for the first time, what I’ve known in my head for a long time.

If I want to take my career as an artist to a higher level, if I want to reach a "higher" market and better galleries, then I have to take my work to a higher level. It sounds so obvious, and yet I have not kept that simple thought in my consciousness, instead I have been plodding along, waiting for my work to evolve on its own, without much conscious effort on my part. (Experience has taught me that the work will evolve itself, without a great deal of conscious effort on my part, but at its own pace.) That has to change if I want to move forward; I have to be more proactive.

That means I must be willing to take risks, and not seek the familiar and comfortable zones I have created for myself. The challenge will be to stay true to my self and continue to paint from my center, even as I push forward with how I see and interpret my subjects and how the work is executed.

I should strive to make each painting contain at at least one element that represents an improvement or a lesson learned from the previous work. A lofty goal, and one that won’t be easy to meet consistently. Like so many self admonitions, this too will have to be revisted repeatedly.